Sterling Shepard Out For Week 2
- Moving to a third NFC East team’s defensive front, Taco Charlton has yet to reward the Cowboys for their first-round investment in him two years ago. Despite Robert Quinn being suspended, the Cowboys made Charlton a healthy scratch against the Giants. A trade would not surprise Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams, with the veteran Cowboys reporter noting the team may still be looking for a safety. The Cowboys are the only known team to contact the Dolphins on now-available Minkah Fitzpatrick.
- Sterling Shepard remains in the Giants‘ concussion protocol and will miss Sunday’s game against the Bills. The Giants also have Cody Latimer listed as questionable. New York brought back T.J. Jones this week and is set to deploy its lowest-profile receiving corps since the midseason games Shepard and Odell Beckham Jr. missed in 2017.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/19
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Dax Raymond
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds
- Released from IR via injury settlement: QB Jeff Driskel
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Kyle Kalis
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR River Cracraft
- Placed on IR: WR Tim Patrick
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB David Williams
- Waived: QB Chad Kanoff
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: S Rolan Milligan
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Ahmad Thomas
New York Giants
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Alex Wesley
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Craig James
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Richard Rodgers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
Giants Re-Sign WR T.J. Jones
Sterling Shepard is uncertain for Sunday’s Week 2 Giants-Bills game, so Big Blue is turning back to recently released receiver. The Giants brought back T.J. Jones on Wednesday.
Jones was with the Giants during the preseason but did not make their 53-man roster. In moving him to the roster now, the Giants placed outside linebacker Kareem Martin on IR.
While Jones has experience as a receiver and return man from his Lions run, the Giants may need him as a pass catcher Sunday. Shepard is in concussion protocol and did not participate in Wednesday’s practice, and Golden Tate‘s suspension runs three more games. The Giants are down to former Broncos backups-turned-second-year Giants Cody Latimer and Bennie Fowler, along with fellow Year 2 Giant Russell Shepard.
Playing behind Tate and Marvin Jones in 2017, T.J. Jones established career highs in receptions (30) and yards (399). T.J. Jones caught 19 passes for 190 yards in 15 games last season.
The Giants signed Martin to a three-year, $15MM deal in 2018. One of James Bettcher‘s former Cardinals charges, Martin suffered a knee injury Sunday that Pat Shurmur indicated (via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, on Twitter) would take weeks to heal. The sixth-year pass rusher has notched just 1.5 sacks in 17 Big Blue games. Martin will be eligible to return after eight weeks.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/10/19
We’ve got another busy day of workouts, with many teams across the league hosting players.
Arizona Cardinals
- S Briean Boddy-Calhoun; CBs Andre Chachere, De’Vante Harris
Buffalo Bills
- QBs Keller Chryst, Taylor Heinicke; WRs Tommylee Lewis, Joe Parker, Terrance Williams; CB Marcus Sherels, WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
- DEs Jesse Aniebonam, Andrew Ankrah, Markus Jones; S Josh Jones; CB Jeff Richards
Indianapolis Colts
- RBs Bruce Anderson, Darrin Hall; S Chris Banjo; DTs Earl Mitchell, Mike Pennel
Miami Dolphins
- DB Jordan Brown; Ts Christian DiLauro, Storm Norton, Chidi Okeke; CB Deatrick Nichols
New York Giants
- CBs Derrick Baity, Picasso Nelson; LBs Reshard Cliett, LaTroy Lewis; WRs Jamal Custis, Trenton Irwin; RBs Josh Ferguson, Austin Walter; DT P.J. Johnson; DEs Carroll Phillips, Kevin Wilkins; QB Jordan Ta’amu
New York Jets
- WRs Carlton Agudosi, Amara Darboh, Krishawn Hogan, Joe Horn, DeAndre Thompkins, Jordan Veasy, Kendall Wright; TEs Stephen Anderson, Donald Parham, Ross Travis; QBs Taryn Christion, Tyree Jackson, Mike White, Ks Elliott Fry, Greg Joseph, Younghoe Koo, Tristan Vizcaino
Philadelphia Eagles
Seattle Seahawks
Tennessee Titans
Washington Redskins
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Jeremy Vujnovich
- Waived: TE Darrell Daniels
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL John Wetzel
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: DE Mitchell Loewen
- Released: DE Wes Horton
New York Giants
- Claimed off waivers (from Steelers): LB Tuzar Skipper
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: QB Devlin Hodges
Restructured Contract Details: Flacco, Solder, Panthers
With the majority of the NFL beginning their 2019 campaigns tomorrow, a number of teams have slightly tweaked contracts in an effort to open some extra cap space. We’ve compiled some of the notable restructured contracts from this morning, along with some details on some recently-completed deals.
- The Broncos converted $17MM of Joe Flacco‘s base salary into a signing bonus, reports NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). The front office also added a pair of voidable years to the contract, thus opening around $13.6MM in 2019 cap space. The veteran quarterback is still on the books for $20.25MM in 2020 and $24.25MM in 2021.
- The Giants made a similar move with offensive tackle Nate Solder, according to Pelissero (on Twitter). The front office converted $7.5MM of the veteran’s base salary to a fully-guaranteed roster bonus, opening up $5MM in cap space. Solder will still earn the same amount of money over the next two years ($13MM in 2019, $14MM in 2020).
- One more from Pelissero (via Twitter): the Panthers restructured the contracts of defensive tackle Kawann Short and offensive lineman Trai Turner, opening $13MM in cap space. While the team could use that open money for extensions, Joe Person of The Athletic tweets that the transaction is “more about taking cap space into next year.” Linebacker Shaq Thompson and cornerback James Bradberry are impending free agents, while running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Cam Newton could be eyeing lucrative extensions.
- The Rams converted $2.25MM of punter Johnny Hekker‘s base salary into a bonus, reports ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter). The move opens up around $1.69MM in cap space, allowing the team is better accommodate the recent extensions for quarterback Jared Goff and tight end Tyler Higbee.
- Center Mike Pouncey‘s one-year, $9MM extension with the Chargers will guarantee him $5MM in new money, tweets ESPN’s Dan Graziano (via Twitter). The guarantees include a $2.5MM signing bonus and $2.5MM guaranteed salary in 2020 (the full base salary is $6MM). The veteran’s cap number is now $10MM in 2019 and $7.75MM in 2020.
- Jacoby Brissett‘s two-year, $30MM extension with the Colts includes an $11MM signing bonus, reports Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). The quarterback has a $2MM salary for 2019, $2MM in per-game roster bonuses (for both years), and a $7MM roster bonus that’s guaranteed in March. As Volin notes, the 26-year-old will likely earn around $13MM to $15MM this season before renegotiating next offseason.
- Josh Doctson‘s deal with the Vikings is for one year at the league minimum of $720K, reports Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). The deal includes no guaranteed money. Following the signing of the wideout and punter Britton Colquitt, Minnesota is now sitting with around $1.17MM in cap space.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/19
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Released from IR via injury settlement: RB Kenneth Dixon
New York Giants
- Released: LB Nathan Stupar
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Alex Ellis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Cortrelle Simpson
NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eli, Eagles
Let’s take a look at the latest from the NFC East, starting with the Cowboys’ contract situation. The team has now extended four high-profile players over the past several months and remains at work on at least two other deals.
- Cowboys VP Stephen Jones was adamant that new contracts with Jaylon Smith and La’el Collins were not done to try to put some pressure on Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott or Amari Cooper. “We’d consider other agreements right now and it wouldn’t affect what we’re doing with Dak, Amari or anyone else,” Jones said (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Jon Machota). The Cowboys now have Smith, Collins, Elliott and DeMarcus Lawrence signed long-term; they are still working on re-ups for Prescott and Cooper.
- On his “Hail to the Podcast” podcast with Erin Hawksworth, former Redskins defensive back DeAngelo Hall said that Trent Williams could make his return “sooner (rather) than later.” Despite his holdout, GM Bruce Allen recently confirmed that the disgruntled Pro Bowler will not be traded and that he does not see him retiring.
- According to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, Giants officials have privately told him that Eli Manning will remain the starting quarterback as long as they are in the playoff race. Moreover, sources also told Vacchiano that Pat Shurmur will have a significant say in the matter. “It’s Shurmur’s call,” one team source said. “Let’s just see how it goes. When and if it’s time, we’ll all know.” Manning confirmed this past summer that he is not rushing into retirement.
- Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham was thought to be AWOL after missing the team’s preseason finale against the Jets, and the team was “livid” at his absence, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. However, Bradham said he was “under the weather” and needed to communicate better with team officials. Bradham signed a five-year, $40MM deal in 2018 and has been a key contributor to the defense since coming over from the Bills in 2016.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/19
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OT Rees Odhiambo
Denver Broncos
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Joe Dineen
Los Angeles Rams
- Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Alex Bachman
New Orleans Saints
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Will Compton
New York Giants
- Released from IR via injury settlement: S Kenny Ladler, CB Henre’ Toliver, CB Ronald Zamort
Washington Redskins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Matt Flanagan
NFL Cap Space By Team For 2019
With hours to go before the start of the 2019 NFL season, here’s a rundown of how much cap room each NFL team has (via ESPN.com’s Field Yates, on Twitter):
- Indianapolis Colts – $42.1MM
- Cleveland Browns – $32.7MM
- Miami Dolphins – $31.9MM
- Houston Texans – $29.5MM
- Buffalo Bills – $24.8MM
- Tennessee Titans – $24.1MM
- Dallas Cowboys – $22.3MM
- Detroit Lions – $19.2MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $18.7MM
- Chicago Bears – $17.3MM
- Carolina Panthers – $16.6MM
- Washington Redskins – $15.9MM
- Philadelphia Eagles – $14.8MM
- Cincinnati Bengals – $13.3MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $12.4MM
- Oakland Raiders – $12MM
- Denver Broncos – $11.2MM
- Green Bay Packers – $10.8MM
- Los Angeles Chargers – $10.2MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars – $9.5MM
- New York Jets – $9.3MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $8.6MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $8.2MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $6.3MM
- New England Patriots – $4.9MM
- Arizona Cardinals – $2.7MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.2MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $1.2MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $852K
- New Orleans Saints – $604K
- Atlanta Falcons – $493K
- New York Giants – $457K